This invention relates to apparatus to control the breathing and more particularly to suppress snoring and stimulate saliva to counter acid reflux.
Sleep disorders include acid reflux and snoring. Reflux is a normal phenomenon but can lead to gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in severe cases and to heartburn in milder cases. Reflux symptoms are often treated as an acid problem and a typical remedy are antacids. Surveys show that about forty five percent suffer from heartburn at least once a month and seven percent as frequently as every day. Also, thirteen percent of adults use antacids as often as two or more times per week. Employers have complained that the annual cost of prescription medicines to alleviate the problems is a serious factor in the cost of operations.
With respect to snoring, forty five percent of normal adults snore occasionally and about twenty five percent snore habitually. Various attempts have been made to prevent snoring and hundreds of patent on the subject cover a period from the late 1800""s to the present.
Although snoring and acid reflux would not seem related, both conditions are suffered commonly and both are dependent on the control of air through the mouth. In the case of snoring, air passage through the mouth is required for the condition to exist so preventing such breathing and redirecting air passage through the nose tends to inhibit snoring. At the same time swallowing requires at least limited breathing through the mouth and swallowing is required to dispose of saliva which in turn serves to neutralize reflux conditions.
It is an object of the invention to provide a device to prevent breathing through the mouth and yet permit passage of sufficient air through the mouth upon swallowing for dispersion of saliva.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simple breathing device that acts as a valve to limit air through the mouth and re-direct inhaling through the nose and at the same time permits the passage of sufficient air through the mouth during the act of swallowing the saliva that may be stimulated by the device to aid combating reflux problems.
Still another aspect is to provide a breathing device that stimulates the secretion of saliva and controls the passage of air to aid in dispersion and swallowing of the saliva as to neutralize the effects of acid reflux.
The purposes of the invention are attained by a breathing control device that acts as a valve for air passage through the mouth and is in the form of a curved sheet of flexible plastic material that is disposed in the mouth between the lips and teeth. In that position the device acts to prevent the passage of air through the mouth upon inhaling and to require air entry through the nose. The curved sheet is held in position relative to the mouth by guide elements in the form of pegs disposed in spaced relation and extending normal to the outer or convex surface of the curved sheet for disposition at the corners of the mouth. The guide pegs prevent lateral displacement and at the same time act as a handle for manipulating the device. The curved sheet of the device also is provided with a pair of openings disposed adjacent to the guide elements that extend in opposite direction from the guide pegs to form air passages when a person using the device swallows at which time the corners of the mouth open slightly to permit air passage. Pegs also are formed on the concave side of the curved sheet generally opposite of the pegs on the concave side of the curved sheet where they can be gripped between the teeth of the user and act to prevent vertical displacement of the device and at the same time prevent contact of the upper and lower teeth and therefore grinding of the teeth during sleep.